Women's Roles in the Cuban and Chinese Revolutions

Women’s Roles in the Cuban and Chinese Revolutions

In the 20th century, the roles of women were changed drastically by the Cuban and Chinese revolutions. Although women in both countries gained many social rights and were a crucial part in the rise of Communism, not all gender preference issues were resolved in China.

Prior to the revolution in Cuba, women had virtually no rights, were not involved in the workplace, and were uneducated. One of the main aims of the revolution was to create equality between men and women. Under Fidel Castro’s communistic regime, women made advancements in the very areas they were struggling in prior to war. Today, women in Cuba outnumber men in universities, make up a large part of government, and even hold high ranking jobs as a result of advancements made during the revolution. Similarly, women in China were viewed as only slaves, prostitutes and concubines. The Chinese Revolution resulted advancements in social equality for women. When Mao’s came to power, he made many sexist practices illegal such as arranged marriages, civil abuse, and foot binding. He also made divorce easier and made it illegal for a man to have concubines. Both the Cuban and Chinese Revolutions saw a change in the social rights of women that then empowered them to fight in the revolutions.

As a result of these gender equalities, women in both revolutions were empowered to fight and played important roles. Knowing that the roles of women were crucial in the economic success of the Communist regime, Fidel Castro employed gender reforms to gain favor of women in Cuba. The women helped the developing economy by aiding in factories that helped fuel the new industry based communist nation. Without the help of women in the labor forces, the economy would have been able to develop near as well as it did. Similarly, Mao used his gender rights to gain support for the Communist